The Little Mermaid
by MashPotatoeSquishBanana
Summary: Annabeth has always loved and hated the Sea equally. What are the reasons behind it? Percy once met a girl and could never forget her; she was his little mermaid. Only one problem: she's a human, and the Mer and humans can never mix without serious consequences. But will that stop their secret meetings? And is there more to Annabeth than everyone thinks? AU dark.


**Hi, everyone. This is probably one of my more original stories. **

**I got this idea while staying on the Sunshine Coast (It's a place in Australia) for a few days these holidays. I visited a beach called Mooloolaba and when I was standing on a plane of rock, I stared out at sea and imagined that it was speaking to me. Like Annabeth describes in this story, I am in awe of the sea. Of its power, and beauty and plain brilliance. You can Google the place if you want. I'm sure there will be some images that will tell you what my words can't.**

**I wanted to convey my own thoughts into a story, and here we have THE LITTLE MERMAID!**

**I hope you like it. I put a lot of effort into writing it.**

* * *

**The Little Mermaid**

_September, 2001_

It was drummed into Percy every single day: _never, ever mingle with humans. They are greedy, selfish creatures that will only take from you. If you ever have an encounter with one, wipe its mind quickly, for it will lead other humans here. Everything as we know it will be destroyed._

Percy once had a close encounter with a human. A human girl. It was many years ago; almost eight, actually. He had been seven. She was a bit younger than seven: maybe five years old, and she was caught in a rip. Her tiny body struggling against the strong current; struggling for oxygen, struggling to survive.

Any other Mer person would have let her drown. But Percy was too compassionate to let her die in cold blood. So he saved her. He swam as close to shore as he dared, and let go of her. She bobbed in the water for a few minutes, and sank. It was then Percy realised that she was unconscious. He didn't dare call for help. The Mer would kill her on sight, and lecture Percy for all eternity.

So he created an air bubbled around her and stayed with her. He studied her face, and spoke to her about random things; she never responded, of course, but it was nice to speak to someone without worrying about what he said. Percy chatted for hours. The girl would sometimes stir, and Percy would cease his chatter and dart behind a rock close by. She moaned once or twice, and even opened her eyes. But she was out of it. Percy eventually realised that she was asleep.

So he fell asleep as well.

He slept, and woke to find the girl staring at him with wide, frightened grey irises.

He was lost in her pretty eyes for a minute before he blinked and remembered that she was a human. _But how could such a pretty creature be bad? _He thought.

When Percy swam forward to try and speak to her, the girl squirmed back, her eyes widening about 10% more. With a pang, Percy understood that he had to let her go, and then wipe her memory. _But she just looks so innocent and beautiful, staring at me with those large eyes_, he thought. _I don't want her to forget me. _

He swam to her again, slowly this time, palms forward in a placating gesture. It seemed to calm the girl down a little.

Percy reached through the bubble and touched her. Her skin was warm, much warmer than his. It was also silky and smooth and soft. Her long blond hair drifted in silken curls to touch his hand. Percy felt himself melting. He reached for her hand and she gave it to him. He squeezed it once, then let go. He swam up, never letting her gaze go, then floated back down to her. He beckoned, and she came through the bubble. Startled at the sudden wetness, she let out all her breath. Percy swam to her and stroked her cheek, then gently cradled her in his arms and swam to the surface where he let go of her. Her head broke the surface and she took a deep breath, then ducked under again. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her face, kissed his palm. Percy smiled goofily at her, and the girl smiled back.

Then she was gone, swimming away. Probably gone forever. Little did Percy know how wrong he was.

* * *

_August, 2011_

Annabeth had always loved and hated the sea in equal amounts. The vast, blue/ green stretch of water frightened her. Its majestic power frightened her. Its capacity to take a life in a microsecond terrified her to no end. But its serene beauty at night when the full moon was shining down, lighting the water up was so moving to her. It sparked a memory deep inside of her; a memory that made her feel warm and safe and loved, and memory that had been with her since she was five years old.

Love was something that she craved. It was also something that she had been greatly deprived of. Her mother left her when she was a young child. Her father married a woman who didn't care a bit about Annabeth.

Annabeth held tight to this feeling when it came. For the life of her, she couldn't remember what made her feel so. She just knew that it was somehow connected to the ocean. She would sneak out at night and go and sit in a secluded cove that she had accidentally found. There was a long stretch of rock that she would sit on, and stare out into the ocean, thinking.

Sometimes she imagined that there was a friend out in the ocean, someone who would listen to her worries and her fears. To the good news in her life, or even just every day annoyances like her little half brothers who would sometimes steal her homework books and dump them in the toilet after someone had been for a number 2.

She would chat to no one in particular, just imagine that there was a person sitting next to her. Perhaps a boy a bit older than her with dark hair and eyes the colour of the sea. He would laugh at her lame jokes and make an effort to cheer her up when she was down. He would lend her his shoulder to lean on when she cried, and smile lovingly at her when she wanted to feel loved.

He was her dream boy.

Sometimes she even thought that the sea listened to her. If she was crying, the cool, refreshing breeze would wrap her in its comforting embrace. The waves would calm down, and the majestic crashing rhythm would become a soothing lullaby.

If she was yelling and raging about being bullied at school, about a kid who had stolen her lunch or gotten her in trouble with the principal, the wind would howl and the waves would become almost like mini tsunamis as they crashed into the sand banks again and again. It was almost as comforting as having a friend who had her back. If only her dream boy were real, she sighed. Then she would be truly happy in life.

* * *

_March, 2002_

"Daddy!" six year old Annabeth called out in delight. "Daddy! Come quickly!"

Frederick Chase sighed and walked over to see what his errant daughter had found now. What she had found was a dead clam. She was clutching it in her hands, trying to open it. "Annabeth, darling," he said tiredly. "Please put that down. It could seriously injure you. I don't have the money to pay for your hospital bills if that were to happen."

"Just wait a minute, daddy!" Annabeth frowned in concentration as she wrestled with the clam, trying to pry it open.

"Annabeth—"

"I got it!" Annabeth straightened up, looking proud of herself as she held the open clam up to Frederick's astonished face. "Is it a pearl, daddy? Is it? Is it?"

"Why don't you take a look, darling," he said, a bit more life in his voice.

Annabeth held it in her two tiny hands and grinned fiercely. "It's a pearl, daddy! There's a pearl in my clam! Isn't it pretty? And I didn't hurt myself!" Annabeth showed him her hands. "See?"

Frederick gently moved her hands away from his face. "Yes, darling. I see."

Annabeth cradled the clam and pearl to her chest protectively. She turned to face the blue- green expanse of water before her. "Thank you, ocean," she whispered.

The waves didn't respond. The breeze didn't cease in its motion. But perhaps the reflection of the sun on the turquoise expanse of water glinted just a tad brighter at the six year old's words?

* * *

_2006_

Percy was now twelve, and young and naïve as it sounds, he was hopelessly in love with the girl. Annabeth, he recalled her name was. He had once heard a man (her father, he presumed) called her Annabeth. A very fitting name for an angel like her.

He knew was that she loved the beach. She liked the chat to no one, and he loved listening to her soft, melodic voice. It was like music to his ears.

He hated that she felt so alone in life. He had heard her talk once or twice about taking her own life. Hurling herself off the rocks and ending it once and for all. If it came to that, Percy would save her. He had saved her once before and he would do it again.

* * *

_June, 2007_

Thirteen year old Percy was scouring the ocean floor with a couple of his buddies. They were doing a treasure hunt for Percy's cousin's Thalia's fifteenth birthday.

That's when he saw it. He saw the necklace that changed everything. It had a thin silver chain, and a heart shaped locket. He swam down to inspect it and discovered that the locket opened. Engraved inside were the words: _yours forever._

He thought of the human girl he was so engrossed with. He had never spoken to her. He knew her name was Annabeth, but only by listening to her father call her that whenever the two had visited the beach together in the past. Annabeth hadn't been to the beach with her father in years. Percy knew she had family problems from all the screaming she had done at him.

Well, not him personally, but it sure seemed like it.

Percy ended up losing the game miserably. But that was okay, even if Thalia would hold it against him forever. Because Percy had found something of much more use to him than a clam with a pearl inside (which was the main prize).

He would give the locket to Annabeth. Then maybe she would finally figure out that her 'dream boy' was just at infatuated with her as she was with him.

He swam to the Skin of the ocean, but he didn't dare break the surface. He'd heard horrible tales of Mer dying gruesome deaths, scorched by the laser beams from what humans called 'the sun'.

Percy didn't want to die before he got to meet Annabeth. He let go of the locket and closed his eyes. He imagined the waves washing ashore the locket. He imagined Annabeth walking along the beach and finding it. Power surged through his body, and the ocean responded to his commands. Percy opened his eyes and smiled in satisfaction.

* * *

_June, 2007_

Annabeth was walking along the beach with a book in her hand when she found it. A locket. It was heart shaped. Excitement brewed inside of her. Was it a sign from her imaginary friend who lived in the ocean?

Or was she going crazy?

Annabeth put her book down and dropped to her knees in the sand, digging the locket out and shaking it to get the excess sand off.

It flipped open and she gasped. Inside, it read: _forever yours. _

Her head snapped up and she scanned the cove. He was here. He had to be here.

No movement whatsoever.

But she didn't want to give up. She stood up and slipped the necklace over her head. It sat nestled comfortably in the hollow of her throat.

"Who are you?" she said to the ocean. "Please tell me if you are real. I think I'm going crazy, but I'm pretty sure I'm not. If you would just give me a definite sign…"

Annabeth waited. Nothing happened. She slumped in disappointment. A seagull flew overhead. It landed a few metres away from Annabeth.

"I guess it was all just a dream, huh?" she said glumly. Then she laughed bitterly. "I really am going mad, aren't I? I'm talking to a bird."

The bird squawked and flew away. The wind picked up. Sand blew in Annabeth's eyes and she couldn't see anything as she ran up to the sand dunes to escape the sudden draft.

A massive wave crashed onto shore. Then after it receded, the wind died down and everything went back to normal. The sea glistened a lovely turquoise. A cool breeze sighed, drifting over Annabeth. Her hair lifted gently, and fell.

When she didn't move, the breeze blew more persistently until t was nearly pushing her back to the shore. She plopped down in the surf and gasped. On the shoreline, written in seaweed, was a name.

She stepped back to read it. And gasped.

_Percy Jackson_

"So you do have a name," she said out loud. Then she started laughing. "You're real! Percy Jackson, you can't hide forever! I am going to find you!"

The breeze whistled and the sea heaved and Annabeth swore she saw a black haired boy darting playfully under the waves.

* * *

_August, 2009_

For once, there was silence in the cove. It wasn't a peaceful silence. More like the calm before a storm. Annabeth sat quietly, staring moodily out at sea. She didn't speak. Just stared.

And then it all came out in one big rush. "I hate my dad!" she cried, the tear onslaught coming. She sniffed. "I hate my dad, and my step mother, and my little brothers Bobby ad Matthew. I hate school, and all the people in it, teachers included." She was crying harder now. "I wish the whole world would just go away and leave me alone for once!" she sobbed, throwing herself down on the sand.

"Sometimes I think that you're the only good thing in my life, Percy, even though I've never seen or spoken to you. At least you listen. You don't talk, or crowd my problems with your own. You let me be myself, and you don't judge me." Then she lifted her tearstained face and stared out to sea. "Or do you? Am I pretty enough for you to accept me? Smart enough?" She stood up and rubbed her eyes. "That's why you're silent tonight, isn't it? You're not there. You're not listening. You don't care anymore."

The breeze didn't blow. The waves didn't crash. All was silent.

Annabeth buried her face in her hands, her small cries of anguish echoing eerily around the cove, haunting the beautiful night with melancholy and wist.

* * *

_August, 2009_

It was the biggest and grandest event of the year. The Son of Poseidon's fifteenth birthday. Percy loathed the attention. He would prefer be up near the surface, listening to Annabeth talk to him. What if she came and he missed her? What if she was crying and he wasn't there to comfort her? What if— and he was loathe to think of it— but what if she was in a miserable state of mind and decided that tonight was the night to take her life, the one night that Percy couldn't be there to save her?

Or— worst case scenario— she thought he didn't care anymore and stopped coming. It wasn't like he could leave the water to go and search for her. He didn't enjoy his party at all; the only thing on his mind was Annabeth. He received lavish gifts, and an exquisite concert was performed in his honour, and a banquet of ocean delicacies was served, but Percy didn't remember anything.

As soon as the party ended, Percy sneaked away and swam to the surface. He wanted to break the surface so bad, to actually see Annabeth's face clearly. He was terrified. Terrified of the harsh, biting wind, the rough sand that would rub away his delicate skin.

_I have to see if Annabeth's alright_, he said to himself. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists; gritted his teeth, braced himself for the onslaught of sudden sound and pain.

He kicked off the sea floor and his head broke the surface. He stayed, bobbing in the water for a few seconds, still tense and ready to duck back under if the pain became too much. Nothing happened. He took a cautious breath in and discovered that it didn't hurt as much as it had always been made out to. The air whistling down his throat was rough and dry as sandpaper, and it wasn't exactly the most comfortable feeling in the world, but it was bearable.

What Percy wasn't expecting was the cold. Wind bit at exposed flesh, and since Percy was completely naked from waist up, that was a lot of exposed flesh. Luckily, most of his torso was still submerged in the warm water, and his legs (which had recently begun to look suspiciously like a fish tail when together) which were clad in pants made of a special silken material found only in the depths of the ocean, were fully submerged.

His cheeks felt like they would fall off, and his nose was so cold it felt like a block of ice on his face.

Percy blinked and shook his wet hair. Water droplets sprayed everywhere.

He started to swim to shore, and for the first time, Percy experienced swimming to shore as a human would. He could see the calm surface of the water, but not the depths, or what mysteries lay beneath. The full moon shone beautifully on the serene Skin of the ocean, and for the first time in his life, Percy saw the stars. They were everything he'd ever heard— white pinpoints against a midnight blue back drop, thousands of them dotting the night sky. Percy could discern a few yellowish stars, even a blue or red one here and there. The above- water experience was unlike anything he'd imagined.

Then Percy remembered why he was here: Annabeth. Right. Focus.

The Prince of the Sea waded to shore and felt the sand beneath his feet. He walked unsteadily, the souls of his feet unaccustomed to bearing his full weight, unaccustomed to the roughness of dry sand.

He scanned the cove for Annabeth, marvelling at the brilliant, haunting light the moon cast.

Percy couldn't see anything. He could just sense that Annabeth wasn't in the cove. He walked dejectedly back to the water, and sat in the surf, staring out across the vast expanse of water which was his home. That is, until he felt something wash up beside him. He looked down and choked on a cry. It was the locket he had given to Annabeth so long ago. The one that he had wanted her to have as a show of his devotion to her.

He picked it up gingerly and studied it. The clasp was undone, which meant that she had undone it herself.

Percy's heart felt like lead. He wanted to curl up and cry. What had happened? Then it dawned on him that the locket had just washed up next to him, which meant that it hadn't been off her neck for long.

His head snapped up. He squinted at the sea, trying to find out which way the current was running. It was going south, so that meant the locket had come from the north.

Percy clenched his fist around the precious necklace, dived into the surf, and swam with all he had in him.

* * *

_September, 2003_

As seven- year- old Annabeth stared out at sea, she sighed wistfully. How she wished she could be a mermaid. To dart and play beneath the waves without a care in the world. To have a pretty mermaid tail, and long golden blond hair that could be tamed and brushed through easily.

If she were a mermaid, she would have a pet dolphin that she would ride every day. She would have a mum and a dad that loved her, and they would be one big happy family. She would be the princess of the sea; she would wear a tiara adorned with pretty gems, and have a whole wardrobe full of lovely party wear.

Annabeth directed her gaze sadly down to the ratty jeans, worn sneakers and stained sweater she wore. In her hands was an old, tattered Yankees Baseball Cap. It was the only thing she owned that her mother had possessed. Annabeth's father Frederick had wanted to throw cap hat out— "Annabeth, it's old and disgusting, the colour's faded, we live in _San Francisco, _not New York, and besides, your mother left us! Why should you want to keep that old thing? I'll buy you a new hat in a colour that actually suits you, with a San Franciscan team on it!"— but Annabeth had refused profusely. She had never met her mother, so it was alright to pretend that maybe she had loved Annabeth, right? That maybe she hadn't left by choice, but by circumstances that couldn't be helped? No matter how badly Frederick spoke of Annabeth's mother, Annabeth refused to believe that her mother had left her. She was coming back one day. She had to. She wouldn't just abandon them; she couldn't leave Annabeth to fend for herself in a world that was against her.

Annabeth was suddenly startled back to the present when an opaque object caused a disturbance to the silky surface of the water.

Annabeth squinted against the sun and gasped in delight when she saw it was a dolphin. She could almost imagine that the dolphin was waving at her when it leaped high. And— was that a smile? A spark of mischief in the marine mammal's eye?

Annabeth's sullen face broke into a delighted grin, and she waved animatedly at the dolphin. Then it glided smoothly back into the water, leaving only a series of ripples that told of its existence. The grin slid off Annabeth's face, and she started shuffling back to her house.

And then a splash caught her attention. She whipped around and gasped in wonder, clapping her hands together and squealing when she saw the dolphin again. And it had brought friends. There were at least five other adult dolphins, and Annabeth's eyesight was too keen to miss the calf hidden discretely behind one of the females.

The little seven year old lost control of her limbs; she let her heart guide her as she waded out into the water. She reached out a timid hand, not actually expecting a dolphin to come to her, but when the baby itself cautiously approached her, Annabeth stopped and stared in awe at its delicate beauty; at its gleaming silver skin, its small intelligent eyes and the cute fins that were curled and still slightly pink from birth.

Annabeth gently placed her hand on the calf's flank and felt herself melting. Its skin was hard and smooth and cold and leathery, but somehow warm and soft and like jelly at the same time. Even now, almost eight years later, Annabeth found it hard to describe.

As she examined her fourteen (soon to be fifteen) year old hands in wonder, the realisation of what she was doing struck Annabeth.

What had happened to that little girl who was obsessed with mermaids and parties and sunshine and happiness? Where had she gone?

_No, _Annabeth mentally corrected. _Not where has she gone. Because I'm still right here. The real question is: What did that seven year old turn into? What made her change so drastically?_

"It was everything," Annabeth whispered into the night sky. The freezing gale stole away her words, so even if Percy had been down there in that black, cold, relentless sea, listening to her, watching her, waiting for her to make her move, the wind kept him from hearing her. "Her mother left her," she continued, her voice rising in pitch. "Her father ignored her for years and remarried a witch that hated her and pushed her to the side, where she stayed until she was long forgotten!" Annabeth stood, now screaming. "Her best friend isn't even real!" The wind screamed right back. "Do you hear me now, Percy?" she howled. "Do you? Do you hear me dad? What about you, Susan? Matthew? Bobby? Do you hear what I'm saying? Listen closely because these are the last words you'll ever hear from me!"

The wind seemed to die down then, and Annabeth smiled. But there was no humour in it. It was cold and full of grim purpose.

Annabeth opened her mouth to utter her last sentence, and then a miracle that had only ever been a far away dream occurred.

* * *

**Dun dun DUN! TO BE CONTINUED! **

**What do you think? Please, please PLEASE tell me! Remember, the more reviews, the faster the update!**


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